Mr. Radley: You are, of course, correct. A weekly update of Shimmer’s website would help us grow our audience. It might seem like it doesn’t take much time, but generating content that is relevant and interesting and frequent consumes more time than one might think.

For instance, what exactly is going on at Shimmer these days? Well, I only know what’s going on because I e-mailed Beth and asked her (note: I am not subscribed to the mailing list, so there could be an update daily and I’d never know about it). Beth’s explanation was reasonable considering the circumstances, and I even felt bad and wished I could help, but afterwards I thought, maybe just a weekly post on the web site would ensure that readers and subscribers know the magazine is still alive? (There hasn’t a been a news post since May 4th, by the way, and the site has been updated once [possibly] since the Pirate issue came out.)

Well, there’s also Beth’s blog, and your blog, Mary, to go to for occasional Shimmery info — and perhaps the rest of the staff has blogs, too. In my opinion, it would be nice to see the site updated with something, if not a weekly basis, then on a monthly basis. Or very worst case, on a quarterly basis to coincide with the quarterly releases of Shimmer. And if an issue is regrettably delayed, an update on the site would also be welcomed. Again, maybe all of that is told to mailing list subscribers and issue subscribers. Those of us who don’t subscribe, or who pick up a copy through other means, want to know, too.

Well, them’s my thoughts and opinions. Maybe others don’t care so much. Perhaps it all it really takes is viral marketing.

I like your analogy to painting v. photography. Print will not die, it will evolve. Just, right now, it’s thrashing around a bit with the genetic experiments.

I agree. I readily confess to my consumer’s tendency to be seduced by a good cover. Even when I read things online, the design and presentation of a website have a huge effect on how much I enjoy the work and how likely I am to read anything else there. And the thing is, when I like something, I want to have it in an immediate, tactile way that’ll make it last. When I read a brilliant book in mass market, I want to find it in hardcover. If I discover a band I like via free mp3s, I’ll buy the CD. When I’ve enjoyed the run of a television series, I want it on DVD.

I also think that what small presses have going for them is a grass roots feel; that you can get something as gorgeous as Realms or Shimmer while knowing at the same time that you’re helping build something up, that you have a really tangible feeling of contributing to the flourishing of art you enjoy.